Why I’m not ashamed to feel good about myself…

Tags

body confidence, diet, fashion, parenting, self esteem, slimming world, weight loss

Quite often now, friends, colleagues and family are commenting on my weight loss. “Gosh Emma, your legs are so slim!” or “That top is too big you need to get a smaller size!” etc.

Its so lovely when people say these things, because you can tell they really mean it as it comes unprompted. In the past, when I lost a lot of weight I used to dismiss compliments that came along with the weight-loss. I’m not really sure why that was, exactly. Maybe I was embarrassed, or simply because I wasn’t sure I knew how to accept a weight-related compliment (after all, I wasn’t used to getting positive comments about my weight), or maybe it was simply because I felt I didn’t deserve them.

But I have a whole new mindset this time around. I’m in my 30s, I didn’t appreciate aspects of my looks the whole way through my teenage years and my 20s, so this time around when I’m looking better and feeling better about myself then I’ve decided I’m damned well going to enjoy the compliments and allow myself to feel good about me. Very ‘Loose Women’ of me, but you know what I mean!

I’ve been thinking of all the little positive changes that have come along with the actual weight loss – some obvious, like fitting into clothes, but some are less obvious and ones that I might not have admitted to before but there are other benefits to losing weight than just looking and feeling thinner. So to motivate anyone who is wavering with their journey, or anyone who is fed up with themselves and thinking of making a start, here is a list of things that have improved/changed for me as a result of my weight loss. I began off feeling utterly shite about myself and I know some people reading this will be feeling the same. It can change. You can change it. I’m in the middle of doing it and this is what I’m enjoying now, starting with the most obvious to the utterly ridiculous..

• I’m thinner and I look better, that’s a given. Not ashamed to say it out loud anymore!
• I can fit into clothes with smaller sizes that I had packed away tearfully a few years ago.
• I can walk into a shop (ANY SHOP – EVEN BLOODY TOPSHOP**!) and know that I will be able to try something on and not scream with despair.
• My underwear doesn’t hurt me anymore. *cringe*
• I’m more interested in fashion and creating an outfit – as a result I’m taking more pride in my appearance.
• I can run around after my kids and play with them in the garden and not have to sit down, out of breath and red faced.
• I don’t want to instantly change into my jammies when I get in from work just so I feel comfortable.
• I rarely feel bloated any more.
• I feel more organised about what I’m eating (it definitely gets easier the longer you do it)
• My feet have shrunk! Which is a bit of a downer with some existing shoes, but means I can fit into a 7 rather than an 8 in shops (They NEVER have an 8 when you want it)
• Shopping is FUN!
• When another car parks too close to yours – I don’t freak out about having to squeeze in.
• I’m sleeping better and having less headaches.
• I’m not too embarrassed to go for a spray tan or a wax. Yay!
• I’m not going to develop diabetes!!
• No more bra back strap extenders. Thank Christ.
• On hot days if I dare to wear a maxi dress, I don’t have to wear shorts underneath to avoid my chubby thighs rubbing against each other. OW.
• I look forward to social events and get excited about going out.

 

And finally – I’ve posted a full length selfie for the first time EVER!!

13lbs remaining. 14 weeks until my birthday.

Now, is that a target or what?

 

 

**Unfortunately I have realised I’m now too old to buy from Topshop…**

Slimming World Takes Over The House

Tags

diet, family, food, homemade food, nutrition, parenting, recipes, slimming world, weight loss

So it finally happened.

I got the G Man to join Slimming World.

I’d like to brag that I managed to persuade him all by myself and that I was the sole voice of reason, bringing him to a moment of clear-headed enlightenment, but alas – no. He kind of figured it out himself. After quitting smoking 6 years ago, the weight had begun to creep up on him so he felt it was time to make some changes.

Of course, it was double delight for me. Not only was the other adult in the house following the same plan (making it SO much easier to stay on track) but also the adult THAT IS THE BEST COOK EVER was following the plan! No more worrying about making my own separate slimming world friendly dinner, no having to check my portions of food if I had to eat what the rest of the family were having. Now that he was following the plan, it was endless amounts of syn free dinners, snacks and delights. Honestly, its been great and I realise I’m very lucky to be married to a man who not only loves to cook but is very good at it.

I’m only HALF A FECKIN’ POUND away from getting my 3 stone award and after that, there’s just one measly stone to get me to my official target. The end is really in sight and whats lovely is I’m doing it with my other half – we can achieve it together. The kids are really benfiting too as there are so many vegetables, good lean protein and fruit being consumed in our house that we’ve never eaten so healthily.

Here are just a few of our meals from the last week or so – some are lunches and some evening meals – and I will post the recipes and links up for some of them soon (once I get them from the G Man. I don’t cook as you know so haven’t a clue how he made them!)

If anyone reading this is feeling like they want to get started with a weight loss plan (any one, not necessarily slimming world) and are worried they might not be able to manage it, trust me – give it a go – you’ll be glad you did. I’ve been doing this for nearly a year and have had lots of ups and downs and could have lost this weight sooner. But what I’ve learned is that it doesn’t matter how long it takes. Just keep going. If you’ve already started a new lifestyle and nutrition plan and it is going well, but maybe you’ve had some weak moments and given in to scrummy temptations, then DON’T be so hard on yourself, you’re only human. And you’re a long time dead. It’s okay to fall off the wagon. Just make sure you get back on it – its going somewhere good.

I can’t wait to get there.

Two and A Half Stone…over halfway there.

Tags

diet, food, slimming world, weight loss

I shared recently on social media that I had achieved my 2 and a half stone award with Slimming World. I’m so proud of this and really feel it has been relatively easy. I really don’t mean to sound like a know-it-all or the kind of person that you want to slap, (I promise!) but when I say relatively easy I mean that I’ve got the right attitude in place for the first time ever. It doesn’t mean I lose pounds and pounds every week. Some weeks it is only a half a pound, some weeks I stay the same, and other more satisfying weeks I do lose 2 or 3lbs.

But its easy because it has become a way of life for me. I’m not on a diet. I’m following a healthy eating plan, yes. I’m watching my intake of sugar and fat and carbohydrate, yes. I’m trying to eat plenty of good protein. But I’m not labouring every meal, every weigh-in, every snack. I’m just living my life and making the plan fit around it. If I want to stay on track when the rest of the family are treating themselves to a massive chicken pie with chips – well, I just have an Iceland SW meal, or plan ahead to have my own SW friendly recipe.

I’m seeing other, non-scale victories too. I’m down two sizes. I am fitting into clothes that had been relegated to the back of the cupboard. I’m feeling lighter on my feet and much healthier. I’m actually looking forward to my work Christmas do this year, because I had actual choice in the shops as to what outfit I could buy – I wasn’t destined to only go to one or two shops because they do ‘big sizes’.

It feels really good.

And for those reading this that don’t personally know me…all four of you (hi, Mum!) I have to explain that I really am a normal woman who has a massive appetite, eats too much junk, is too fond of takeaways and has been known in the past to order nachos with cheese and extra-cheese-on-top-of-the-cheese-please in the cinema. And yet, I’m on my way to my target weight. Over halfway, actually.

And yes, Christmas will be a stumbling block. But a delightful one. I’m not going to torture myself. If I gain a few pounds, so what? That’s normal! I will attend my meetings as usual and I will try to be on plan for as often as I can. That’s what I’ve realised. One small gain or one difficult weigh-in shouldn’t ruin the whole process for you. Chalk it up and move on. If I had given up inthe summer when I gained 9lbs, I wouldnt be another stone and a half lighter now…would I?

I saw this meme today posted by a target member in our group – he has lost stones and stones and is a great inspiration to us – and I couldn’t have put it better myself.

 

Merry Christmas everyone.

Go on…enjoy the turkey.

🙂

I’ve got my 2 stone award, and yes I’m feeling proud of it!

Tags

dieting, food, healthy, parenting, simming, slimming world, weight loss

So after having a great summer and enjoying a little of what I liked every now and again…and babysitting my weight etc, I’m now fully back on track. I’ve finally achieved that oh-so-elusive but attractive 2 stone award. I even got the Slimmer of the Week AND Slimmer of the Month award at the weigh-in a couple of weeks ago. I was genuinely shocked but chuffed.

I can see it my final goal now, I’m more than halfway there. It’s just ahead and my sweaty little hands are going to grab it very soon.

You know how I know? Because last Saturday, I sat in a certain well-known fried chicken restaurant and ate a takeaway sushi pack from a supermarket.

Oh, how times have changed.

And I didn’t even mind. Normally in the past I would have sat there, glowering at everyone while the juicy gravy covered chips were shovelled into thier mouths, wishing all the time that I could sink my teeth into a spicy chicken burger and feel that tingle of lemonade bubbles slide down my throat.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Not anymore.

I’m not a saint, of course. I’m having plenty of treats and I count my syns very carefully, allowing myself a little tipple at the weekend if I fancy it. And it’s working. I’ve also enjoyed cooking and eating a range of slimming world recipes over the last while, as well as making sure that my lunch and snacks in work are all healthy options. I really enjoy making myself and the kids the sw carbonara recipe (I add some mushrooms in) and we’ve also enjoyed the beef stuffed sweet roast potato recipe. another favourite is actually a Lorraine Pascale recipe of Honey and Mustard spatchcock chicken which is only about 6 syns for the entire chicken (no skin, of course!) and I’ve had that with beans, broccoli and boiled potatoes. And always a favourite is the slimming world Tikka Masala ready meal, which I have at the weekend when the G Man is ordering his typical chinese takeaway. I’m just trying really hard to make the right choices.

So far, so good. It’s less than 10 weeks until Christmas, so another pound a week would be slow but steady progress.

Can I do it? Let’s just wait and see.

January Diet Diary…the sequel.

Tags

baby weight, cooking, diet, fishcakes, food, healthy, parenting, recipe, stir fry, weight loss, weight watchers

Sooooo. I made it through January. But not without some hiccups. (No, they weren’t hiccups caused by overeating.) I know, even I’m surprised! January has seen me get to my stone and a half marker! Wayhey! That’s 21lbs.

I had to battle a shocking head cold which made all food taste the same to me, so it was really hard to enjoy what I was eating. This would normally make me turn in disgust to junk food. But not this time, I really didn’t want to undo all the good I’d done since Christmas. I managed to make sensible food choices and lost 3lbs on my return from being ill, and managed to get to a stone and a half loss.

What I didn’t do last week though, was ‘track’ my points, which on Weight Watchers, is very much the point (if you’ll pardon the pun) I did eat ‘well’ and I didn’t eat any rubbish, but I think I would have done even better if I hadn’t stopped tracking.

I enjoyed a lot of fish this last week, and I really do think that helped too, especially ‘The Hairy Dieters‘ Fishcakes which the G Man had a go at making; delicious. I also LOVE the smoked salmon with dill dressing from IKEA, and I’m never out of that place so it stands to reason I should have my lunch there too! And stir fry, as always, was a weekly favourite.

So my plan for this week is twofold.

1. Track my points. It really isn’t hard, and I quite like the organised nature of it.

2. Don’t eat after dinnertime midweek (unless its a zero point totally healthy snack) I really do think it will help my metabolism and weight loss.

I really hope that by the end of February I will have my 28lb (2 stone) certificate…fingers crossed.

Weight Loss: 3lbs

Total Weight Loss: 1 stone 7lbs (21lbs)

Diet Diary for January…

Tags

diet, healthy eating, Mushroom Risotto, parenting, recipe, weight loss, weight watchers

Yes, I had to face the music. I DEFINITELY fell off the wagon over Christmas and I ate and drank a little too merrily. But you know what? It didn’t bother me. It wasn’t the end of the world. I enjoyed Christmas, spending time with family and friends and I began with a clean slate when I returned to Weight Watchers after Christmas and began as I meant to go on. I had a gain of 6lbs over the two week Christmas break (which was a lot less than I thought it would be, it felt like 40!) and today, believe it or not, at my first weigh in today since starting back I managed to lose 7 and a half pounds! Happy me!

I was careful, I planned meals, I weighed my portions and was still able to have treats like a cheeky glass of wine and some (carefully measured!) crisps at the weekend. I know I won’t have the same loss next week, as it will have to even itself out, but I’m so pleased to have started off well. Some favourite low calorie and wholesome recipes that I found online were Mushroom Risotto, Asian Meatballs, Salmon in Honey and Soy. The meatballs and the salmon recipes are particular favourites in our household because they are genuinely tasty and you couldn’t tell for a second that they are low calorie so we will definitely be making them again.

Weight loss this week: 7 1/2 lbs

Total Weight loss: 1stone 4lbs (18lbs)

🙂

I’m getting my groove on…

Tags

grooving, guest blog, health, weight loss

 

I recently came across fellow Mum blogger Kate on Thin Ice and saw that she has guest bloggers write posts for her blog section called Grooving Mums. As Kate says; “Groovy Mums is a blog hop that celebrates life changes and aims to help Mums support each other as they move forward positively one step at time.” After reading the blog entries from other Mums, I felt it was a really affirming and good thing to be part of, so I wrote my guest blog about my current post-baby weight-loss journey. Its ongoing and I have my ups and downs, but I felt I wanted to share it as I know there are other new Mums out there struggling to lose their baby weight. Feel free to visit Kate at her blog or on twitter @GroovyMums